Using course readings and discussion please prepare a script for a podcast that answers the following question. What are three things you can commit to doing in your practice as an educator that will effect positive change in your school climate?
In my opinion true change comes slow, good change even slower. Therefore in thinking about my practice, I keep in mind that snowballs all start with one snowflake, and that I want to begin slow next year.
The first change I hope to make next year is to better balance historical exploration with personal exploration in my EDU 125 course. As I read Palmer’s work I am struck by his exploration of living with paradox. In the past I was choosing between history of education or personal exploration of what it means to be a teacher. In order to do this I plan to spend time on both aspects, and give more space to allow for personal exploration of this profession. I want future teachers to understand the context of the profession they are entering though an appreciation of the history, but I also want to help them develop personal agency to effect change in this field. By giving more time to exploring personal ideas and opinions I hope to help future teachers think about the way in which they can both participate in, and make change in this field.
The second shift I will try make is to recommit myself to relationships as the foundation of education. Noddings says that “a caring relation is, in its most basic form, a connection or encounter between two human beings” (p.222). I believe that these sorts of relationships must be cultivated through collaboration to ensure that they occur. In order to establish a caring framework I plan to ask students to engage in activities that will promote more conversation. First, I plan to have students peer comment on blogs, in addition to my commenting on them. I hope that this will accomplish two things – first it will allow students another place to share, and second it will allow for a written conversation where some students might be more comfortable sharing than in a classroom dialogue. I also hope that this mini-conversation will help to promote better classroom discussions. I have struggled in the past with the paradox Palmer describes as creating a space that “honors the ‘little’ stories of the students and the ‘big stories’ of the disciplines and tradition” (p.302). I hope that by asking students in pairs to share and listen to each other’s little stories I will be better able to keep a discussion going that remains centered on the big stories of the tradition of education. In this sense I feel I will be better cultivating a balance between the professional and personal elements of the teaching profession.
Finally the third change I hope to make is in helping my students negotiate the transformation from student to teacher. In doing this I hope to help students see that teaching is an act of social justice. By bringing caring attitudes to the profession, and being willing to engage with students I hope students will challenge the current conditions in schools. Similar to the ideals of Freire, I believe that education is about more than just the transmission of knowledge, I believe it is a place for cultural norms to be questioned and inequities to be acted upon. I hope to instill in my students, the future teachers, a desire to make education better for all students. In order to do this I plan to select open and honest readings that will force students to challenge their own experiences and opinions.
I am excited to reaffirm my beliefs, to contribute to positive growth in education, and to help our next generation of teachers develop.
In my opinion true change comes slow, good change even slower. Therefore in thinking about my practice, I keep in mind that snowballs all start with one snowflake, and that I want to begin slow next year.
I am excited to reaffirm my beliefs, to contribute to positive growth in education, and to help our next generation of teachers develop.